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Defiance College will honor the 1996-97 women’s basketball team at halftime of the Lady Jackets’ game against Hanover College on Saturday, Jan. 26. The 1996-97 squad had one of the most successful seasons in school history, going 28-1 and advancing to the NCAA “Elite Eight” for the second year in a row.
The team went 25-0 in the regular season, earning the number one ranking in the national poll and extending its regular season winning streak to 51 games. The Lady Jackets’ program also reached the 400-win milestone during the season with a 98-57 victory over Adrian College on Feb. 12, 1997, at the Karl H. Weaner Center.
The highest scoring offense in DC history used a balanced attack to put up 87.1 points per contest outscoring its opponents by 25.8 points per game. Four Lady Jackets averaged double-figures in scoring, while a total of 16 players found the scoring column during the season.
Head coach Tom Palombo and captain Stephanie Nafziger earned national recognition following the season. Palombo, the most successful coach in DC history, earned his second consecutive National Coach of the Year honor as his work with the team garnered that distinction from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
Nafziger was named a Kodak All-America selection following the season, becoming one of two women in Defiance College history to earn All-American distinctions in multiple seasons. Four members of the team went on to join the 1,000-point club during their careers: Nafziger, Annette Rue, Jenny Timbrook and Emili McCluer.
The team’s winning margin was 25.8 points, second only to the 1995-96 team. Rue set a DC record for 122 steals in the 1996-97 season. McCluer and Shauna Graber were ranked number two and number three in career assists. Timbrook was the all-time three-point field goals leader and ranked third in career blocks. Three of the top-four marks in career three-point field goals were members of this team: Timbrook, McCluer, and Rue.
Also on Saturday, during the halftime of the men’s 3 p.m. tip-off with Hanover, alumna Sue Lauth Grothause will be honored as this year’s Alumni Varsity D Coach of the Year. Grothause is the head softball coach at St. Mary’s Memorial High School where her 2007 team was state runner-up in Division II.
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